Warner Music CEO: We "Went to War with Consumers"

The head honcho at Warner Music admits that record labels were slow—way too slow—to adjust to the rapidly changing digital media landscape. The result? The labels "inadvertently went to war" with its customers. It's a belated admission, but I'll take it.

Speaking at a wireless conference in Macau, Warner Music CEO Edgar Bronfman was urging mobile carriers to avoid the missteps of the music industry, which he said has been moving at a "glacial pace" in the face of the digital music revolution.

As reported by MacUser, Bronfman said: "We used to fool ourselves. We used to think our content was perfect just exactly as it was. We expected our business would remain blissfully unaffected even as the world of interactivity, constant connection and file sharing was exploding. And of course, we were wrong. How were we wrong? By standing still or moving at a glacial pace, we inadvertently went to war with consumers by denying them what they wanted and could otherwise find and as a result of course, consumers won."

Wow—has Bronfman seen the light? Well, sort of; MacUser reports that the CEO went on to describe Warner's bundles of albums, ringtones, and videos on iTunes as an example of offering "choice" to customers. Music labels, along with the TV and movie studios, love these bundles—indeed, they seem to love them way more than the individual, a la carte music tracks that turned iTunes into a phenomenon. And as MacUser points out, it wasn't that long ago that Bronfman called Steve Jobs' defense of DRM-free music "without logic and merit."

That said, Bronfman's latest statement is a startling admission coming from a top music label exec—and it's a thought that the other labels, the TV studios, and movie houses would do well to ponder. Every time I see a service (like, say, the new, PC-only and time-restricted NBC Direct download service) that heaps tons of restrictions on how I consume my content, I feel like I'm being treated like the enemy—when in fact, I'd be more than happy to pay for my media, provided I can use it (legally) on any and all of my devices. And in the end, we'll get our media the way we want it—by hook or by crook.

Will Bronfman's words make all the big media execs see the error of their ways and turn over a new leaf? Nah—or at least, not right away. But it's nice to hear someone finally say it.

Related:
Music boss: we were wrong to go to war with consumers [MacUser]